I ❤️ Coconut Oil

I’d heard about the health benefits of coconut oil quite a while ago. I was impressed with what I’d heard so dutifully purchased a jar which happily sat at the back of the cupboard, never used and to be honest I did not really know what to do with it.

Late last summer I finally learnt how to use it and now I use it almost everyday in a number of ways when cooking.

I currently have 2 jars on the go. Standard organic coconut oil and a jar of Organic Mild Coconut Oil Cuisine (from biona organic). 

Once I started using coconut oil in family cooking the kids unhelpfully decided that they did not like the flavour. A trip to the local health food store solved the problem with the bona mild coconut oil cuisine, which is entirely tasteless.

Coconut oil is one of the best oils to cook with as it is able to withstand higher temperatures than other oils, due to it being a saturated fat rather than a polyunsaturated fat. However …. being a saturated fat means that it needs to be used in moderation like all saturated fats.

A health benefit of coconut oil is that it contains fats called MCTs,  a set of fats that have been shown to help with metabolism – add to smoothies and shakes coconut oil can help aid weight-loss.

“The saturated fat in coconut oil is mostly lauric acid, a medium-chain saturated fatty acid that appears to have a more neutral effect on heart health when compared to longer-chain saturated fats found in meats and dairy products,” says Wendy Bazilian, R.D., author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet.

In addition to cooking uses, there are a wide range of other uses for coconut oil. I am yet to try the other uses, however they include:

• Make-up remover
• After shave moisturiser
• Lip balm
• Stretch mark prevention
• Acne
• Hair and scalp rejuvenation
• Body scrub (add a little sea salt and use as a scrub in the shower)
• Nappy balm

Let me know what you think of coconut oil.